A recent scientific study revealed that achieving a higher level of mental clarity in one day can increase productivity by between 30 and 40 minutes, which is enough time to turn a hard day full of obstacles into a productive and easy day.
The study, conducted by the University of Toronto, sought to answer a simple but fundamental question: Why are we on some days more able to achieve accomplishments and make decisions, while on other days everything seems difficult and slow?
The researchers followed a group of college students for 12 weeks, during which they monitored changes in what they called “mental clarity” from one day to the next.
By this they do not mean permanent intelligence or fixed mental ability, but rather the immediate state of mind, that is, the speed of thinking, the clarity of focus, and the efficiency of decision-making on that particular day.
The results showed that on days when they were more lucid than their personal average, students not only completed their tasks more easily, but they set themselves more ambitious goals and were able to achieve them, especially in the academic area.
In contrast, days with decreased mental clarity were associated with procrastination and procrastination, even on the simplest daily tasks.
The team tried to translate this psychological concept into a practical number, and they concluded that a significant positive increase in mental clarity is equivalent to an additional productivity of up to 40 minutes of work per day, while the difference between a good day and a bad day for the same person may reach about 80 minutes.
The study also monitored factors that affect mental clarity, the most important of which are good sleep, how to start the day, and mood.
She explained that work pressure may temporarily increase mental clarity, but it leads to its deterioration if it continues for long periods without rest.
In the study published in the journal Science Advances, the researchers concluded that mental clarity is a variable resource and not a fixed trait, and that low productivity on some days is not a personal failure, but rather a natural reflection of a temporary mental state.
